A variety of conveyor belts is well-known from the known art, said conveyor belts generally being continuous and thus being arranged so as to rotate around a frame. In this case, the conveyor belts are guided and deflected on rollers of deflection and/or drive means mounted in the frame, and are optionally also driven thereby.
In order that a conveyor belt can be guided on a roller in a defined manner, in particular transversely to the conveying direction of said belt, rollers for this purpose are often spherical, resulting in the effect of the conveyor belt being retained and guided substantially centrally on said spherical region during operation. A disadvantage of spherical rollers of this kind is that dirt can accumulate, along the lateral regions of the conveyor belt, between said belt and the spherical roller, which may adversely affect the guide effect, meaning that required directional control of the conveyor belt can no longer be adequately ensured, with the result that, in the worst case, the conveyor belt may run down laterally from the spherical roller and come off.
With regard to another structural solution, it is known to provide rollers that lean slightly towards one another, in order for it to be possible to support the edge regions of a conveyor belt element on both sides, viewed in the conveying direction, so that the conveyor belt can be prevented from migrating transversely to the conveying direction. However, this solution is extremely complex owing to the plurality of rollers required.
With regard to a particularly simple embodiment of a transport system comprising a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt can for example form merely an upper run and a lower run that are guided so as to be substantially mutually parallel.
Document GB1039312A discloses a transport system comprising a continuous belt. Said belt comprises elevations that extend in the longitudinal direction. The subject matter of GB1039312A further comprises a roller for guiding the continuous belt, which roller comprises parallel furrows in the peripheral direction, which furrows can engage in the furrows of the belt. Substantially U-shaped furrows are described as a particular form.
A disadvantage in this case is that roller belts of this kind do not have optimal grip on the rollers, and, as a result, friction losses may occur. In addition, the accuracy of the fit between the furrows in the belt and the elevations on the rollers may be adversely affected in the case of shifts in temperature. Care should be taken, during assembly and production, to ensure a particularly accurate fit.
EP2679522A1 describes a conveyor belt element for conveying goods, comprising an elastically bendable and planar main body that comprises a receiving surface for receiving the goods and comprises a track guide means for guiding the conveyor belt element on a support apparatus. The track guide means comprises one or more furrow elements that are in each case formed as a material weakening and that are arranged in the elastically bendable main body so as to extend in the movement direction of the conveyor belt element.
The furrow elements may be V-shaped or U-shaped. A disadvantage of furrow elements of this kind is that the contact surface between the support apparatus and the furrow elements is often poorly defined, in particular if the shape of the support apparatus is not exactly adapted to the shape of the furrow elements or deviates therefrom for example as a result of wear or dirt. This can result in inadequate guidance or increased wear, for example if only the edges of a support apparatus are in contact with the furrow elements.
Furthermore, in particular in the case of lateral compression of the conveyor belt element, for example if the conveyor belt element is loaded by goods to be conveyed or is guided around a curve, there is a risk of the support apparatus being jammed in a V-shaped or U-shaped furrow element, causing increased friction and wear, or of being pushed out of the furrow element, causing the guide effect to be lost.